One of the most impactful releases in Gnostic studies in years is the recent The Gnostic New Age by April DeConick. As Birger Pearson writes, the book is a “paradigm shift in our understanding of religion, breaking new ground in scholarship on Gnosticism.” I certainly agree with Pearson and have found pleromic insights galore in the work.

One of the pleromic insights is April’s cataloging of Gnostic rites. Spiritual praxis in Gnosticism has confounded both scholars and occultists for generations. What religious/magical rituals did the ancient Gnostics practice? The Gnostic New Age comes a long way in answering this question, specifically for second century Gnostics. The whole mechanics of these initiatory ceremonies will likely remain a mystery—due to the censoring pens of orthodoxy and the mystery religion secrecy of the Gnostics—but a veil has been lifted by April’s scholarship.

As a whole, April writes on the reason for these rituals: [Read the rest through the link]